1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a single seat aircraft capable of vertical takeoff, landings, and hovering operations which utilizes the X-Wing as a conventional helicopter rotating wing which after transition to the forward flight following takeoff is stopped and becomes a fixed wing of X configuration. The aircraft utilizes two engines within the fuselage, one engine being positioned vertically above the other engine along the longitudinal axis of the aircraft.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Helicopters, valued for their vertical takeoff, hovering and cruising capabilities have been available for commercial and military use for many years. Aircraft which use both the capabilities of a helicopter and fixed wing aircraft have also been available, at least in the design stages, for a number of years. A more recent development in this latter type of aircraft has been to provide a multi-blade (in the shape of an X) rotor which, after the aircraft reaches a desired cruising speed, stops rotating and the blades themselves operate as the fixed aircraft wing. In particular, a four engine aircraft having this capability has been developed, the aircraft being relatively large and heavy (on the order of 33,000 pounds). Two of the engines provide thrust, the remaining two remaining engines provide, among other functions, the power to drive the rotating wing blades. The two thrust engines are located on the fuselage, and the two engines utilized to drive the rotating wing blades are positioned side by side within the aircraft fuselage.
Typical of the prior art patents relating to helicopters and convertible aircraft are as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,989,268 to Andrews describes a convertible aircraft capable of propulsion by a helicopter-type rotor and/or by thrust of the jet engine when using fixed wing surfaces; U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,662 to Velazquez discloses a helicopter devoid of a conventional exteriorly mounted anti-torque rotor and having it at the rear end of its aft fuselage a system utilized for auxiliary propulsion and anti-torque and directional control; U.S. Pat. No. 2,420,323 to Meyer et al discloses a multiple engine jet powered aircraft having the exhaust of the engines ducted to rectangular nozzles with vectoring flaps for pitch control; U.S. Pat. No. 3,139,936 to Davidson et al describes a helicopter in which lift on the blades is varied by the control of spanwise-extending fluid streams discharged therefrom; U.S. Pat. No. 3,362,660 to Tyler discloses an aircraft with laterally projecting control members each formed with elongated apertures on opposite sides of a bluff trailing edge portion and means for selectively discharging boundary layer control streams through different apertures in opposing directions to produce opposed lift and induced drag to retard the aircraft; U.S. Pat. No. 3,869,862 to Dickey discloses a pair of gas turbine engines positioned side by side which drive a main rotor assembly of a helicopter through a combined output gear box; U.S. Pat. No. 3,744,743 to Nay et al which discloses a helicopter power plant system using two turbine engines, each engine extending laterally within the fuselage resulting in a transmission/gearing system which enables one engine to take over if the other should fail; U.S. Pat. No. 3,119,577 to Andrews describes a convertible aircraft having a rotating wing for low speed flight and a fixed wing for high speed flight; U.S. Pat. No. 3,792,827 to Girard discloses an aircraft having a combined rotary and a fixed wing providing aerodynamic support in vertical takeoff and landing and in high speed cruising flight; U.S. Pat. No. 2,689,615 to Fletcher discloses a convertible type aircraft having a fixed wing portion and also a jet-driven lifting rotor; U.S. Pat. No. 3,588,273 to Kizilos describes a rotary wing aircraft wherein each rotor blade section includes variable deflection thruster jet flap means operable to control the lift produced by each section; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,557,522 to Vautier which discloses a fixed wing aircraft provided with twin jet units and a single fuselage, both jet units being arranged one above the other and offset to provide a small dimension for the main transverse frame of the fuselage.
Although the fixed X-wing/aircraft as briefly described hereinabove performs very satisfactorily in its helicopter/fixed wing configurations, the aircraft is designed primarily to carry supplies and/or transport troops, the design cruising speed not being fast enough to enable it to be used as an attack or scout aircraft. It would be desirable if the design features of the rotating/fixed X-Wing could be adapted to a lighter aircraft (typically 13,000 pounds) and, due to its lightness, has the capability to reach cruising speeds when in the fixed wing configuration to enable the aircraft to be used for attack or scouting purposes.